Engines for an automobiles, trucks, or other vehicles operate at high operating temperatures and thus needs various mechanisms to provide cooling. Typically, circulation of a cooling fluid and/or forced circulation of air passed the engine and it components and accessories, are conventionally used to provide cooling for such engines.
Water or fluid cooled engines utilize radiators which are positioned in the incoming flow of air are used to cool the water or other fluid after it has been heated by the engine. Cooling fans are positioned adjacent the radiator in order to force or pull air flow through the radiator and thus to cool the water or other fluid.
Initially, cooling fans were virtually all made from a metal material. More commonly today, the cooling fans are made from a plastic material. The fans can be a traditional type member having a central hub and a plurality of outwardly extending impeller blades, or the fan can be a ring-type fan with a circumferential ring positioned on the ends or tips of the blades.
Also, typically a conduit or shroud member is positioned around the fan member in order to help direct the air flow in the engine compartment of the vehicle in a desired manner.
There is a need for improved cooling fans for use in trucks, automobiles, and other vehicles. There is a particular need for improved cooling fans made of a plastic material which have increased stiffness and durability and which can be manufactured in an easier manner.